Moving
by FreeTrial
Summary: John is just finishing college, while he is pretty bummed that He'll be away from all his friends, the summer awaits and who knows that shenanigans that could bring! Luckily, he's got some pretty good friends to help him out, but who knows what could happen. Even bad things happen during good times... (Mostly JohnXRose {Grimdorks} and some JohnXDave {ColaPepsi, Hammertime, Etc.}
1. Chapter 1

**Moving: Chapter 1**

John sat in his dorm, surrounded by boxes and a single suitcase that was propped up against his leg. He sighed as he watched a movie on his computer that no doubt he had seen multiple times. His focus on the protagonists words broke when a message popped up on his Pesterchum in familiar red text.

"yo man you moved out yet?". It was Dave Strider, his room-mate. He was cool in dork ways, and was rather obsessed with things like irony and those crappy swords of his. He almost had those taken away by the college's policies or whatever they called them, but Dave said he needed them because "It helped him feel safe at night". Both John and the people he told knew that was a lie, but they let it go. John started typing back.

"no, not yet. wow are you that eager for me to leave?"

"nah man i just don't want to get in your way or whatever. it'll be a disaster i'll never see you with all those boxes in my face also since you're so short i'll probably trip over you."

John looked down at his screen, a bit offended, but not in a serious way! Why did height

"dude i am maybe an inch at most shorter than you."

"youre just in denial, youre way shorter than me"

"whatever, but thanks for reminding me that i need to start packing."

"yeah no problem" 

From there, John got up, paused his movie and started organizing. It was a bit of a hassle, since he was 6'5", and bending down to get small articles of clothing, doodads, and other sorts of stuff was pretty exhausting. He was just in the process of picking up the case of some crappy movie he brought from home when he heard more messages pop up on his Pesterchum . Instead of it being the never ending flow of red text from Dave, it was a more purple text from Rose Lalonde. John and Rose were pretty close, they had gone to high school together and had a lot of classes together too. It wasn't a huge secret that John had developed a slight "crush" for her. Although he didn't like saying it was a crush, since it was "sounded like he was a 14 year old girl becoming obsessed with that one hot guy at school." 

"Dave told me that you're still packing up, would you care for my assistance?"

"oh hey rose! no, thats alright, i can do it myself. thanks though :B"

"Are you sure? Its no trouble, especially because I really have nothing to do."

"well, okay sure, if you want"

"I'll see you in about 5 minutes."

John laid back on his bed once she logged off. The reason he was watching the movie before was to keep his mind off the fact that most of his friends lived far away. He was sure that they could always call, message, and Skype each other throughout the day, but it was always more fun to see them in person. All well, it's not like he would _never _see his friends again, right? His thoughts broke when he heard a light knocking on his door.

Rose was in a slightly darker than lavender shirt and a black skirt, which wasn't unusual for her. She wore black most of the time, since it really did look good on her. She also had a small black purse, most likely filled with a book or something that she could read with. She looked around and smiled a tad.

"John, have you been cleaning and packing or did a tornado rip through here as I was walking over?"

John pouted a bit, looking at his shorter friend. "Hey! I have been cleaning!"

"Then I fear then what your dorm looked like before." She said, laughing a bit.

"Yeah, okay. I'm sorry Dave is way messier than I am!" John protested. It really wasn't his fault!

She laughed a bit more. "Yes, I am sure he is." Was that sarcastic? John could never tell.

John sighed and began to pick up clothes again, Rose soon following after but- 

"You actually wear boxers with ghosts on them, John? I always thought you had but I guess this is just proof!" She said, clearly amused and dangling John's underpants like she was taunting him.

John's face went pink and he grabs the undergarment. "Hey!" He exclaimed. "Those are mine, and since when do you think about my underpants?"

"Since you've started to let your jeans sag down. There is a reason I bought you a belt for Christmas." She said, smirk on her face as she continued to grab more items on the floor.

John gasped "So you _were _my secret Santa! Dang it, I was for sure Dave was lying to me."

"Why would you think Dave was lying?" She seemed truly curious, not trying to just question him to see what he would say.

He sighed, "Well Dave likes to tease me about…" then he suddenly realized who he was talking to again. "Things like secrets. Yeah."

Rose didn't seem to belive him, but she didn't question it. "Well, a well kept secret is certainly something one would want to know." 

"Yeah, I guess so." He sighed. Soon, after maybe 30 minutes, the room was clean. John's Items were packed, but his Dad wouldn't be in the area until an hour later to move out. Maybe he could go ask Rose to hang out with him for a while or maybe grab a few other friends and see a movie or whatever friends do.

"Perhaps you'd like to join me for lunch, if it's not too much trouble." Rose asked, breaking his thoughts. "There's a rather nice place down the street."

John seemed started. Man, just when he thought he was going to ask her to hang out she manages to beat him to it. How did she do that? "Uh…Sure! Okay."

"Lovely. Ready to leave then?" She said, picking up her small bag.

"Yeah! Lets go." He smiled, and they headed out the door, leaving the Dorm Key accidentally inside the room.

Author's Note:  
Haha. Ha. Yep. Cliffhanger!  
Don't worry, its Multichapter. I should update every so often, but my computer is a butt sometimes.  
(I also apologize for maybe screwing up Rose or Dave. I was never good at playing out the Strider/Lalondes)


	2. Chapter 2

John and Rose walked down the street, trying to find the place Rose had mentioned. You see, Rose explained that she was originally supposed to go out with her room-mate, Kanaya, but her mom picked her up an hour earlier than expected. John felt a bit like he was just a fill in, but he pushed that out of his mind.

"Here we are" Rose said, tapping John's arm. "Kanaya said the food was rather good. Her sister's friend used to work here."

John looked at the place. "Open Ocean, Huh?" He said. Hadn't Eridan Ampora said he had gotten a job here?

"I already have a reservation ready for us, so we don't have to wait." She said as they walked inside. A very unhappy person greeted them at the door.

"W-welcome to "Open Ocean", do you have a reservation or are you w-waitin' like the rest of these numbskulls that forgot to make one?" Yep. Eridan Ampora worked here.

"Reservation, under the name of-" John spaced out, tuning out of the conversation. This place seemed pretty nice, was Rose sure she wanted to come here? Seafood wasn't exactly cheap…

"Alright, Fef w-will take you to your table." Eridan Rumbled as a bubbly voice pitched in. "Hi guys! I didn't know you liked it here." She chimed, taking two menus and leading them to a table.

"Actually, this is the first time I've been here" John stated, sitting across from Rose.

"Whale, I hope you enjoy then!" she said, taking out a pad and pen. "Now, anything to drink?"

About half an hour later, they were eating rather filling and tasty foods and talking about things like summer activities and such.

"I mean, my dad can get pretty crazy when it comes to cake. Yeah, it's okay every once and a while but seriously!" John stuffed a bite of tuna in his mouth. "Can the guy just make something normal for dessert, like Rootbeer floats or something?"

Rose laughed a little. "You have to give your dad credit, John, he makes pretty spectacular cakes."

"Well, yeah." John sighed, "It just gets a bit tiresome, y'know? Especially when its every-" He was cut off by Feferi.

"Will you be having dessert?" she asked. "We have discounts! I can get you a pretty good deal if you get the "Loveboat". It's has Chocolate and everyfin!" She Squeals.

"I-isn't that discount only for…uh…couples?" John stuttered out, a bit red now.

"Whale…yeah, but you two look convincing enough to be a couple!" Feferi said, "For a while there I thought you guys were, or are you? She seemed to really like that idea. John thinks She's had too much time with Nepeta as her room-mate.

"While that really is a kind offer, Feferi" Rose spoke politely. "I'd hate to take advantage of something meant for actual couples. We'll just take the check." John felt relief flood through him. Rose was a life saver. Well, more like an embarrassment saver.

"Oh, alright then. If your shore." She replied, maybe just a bit disappointed. "Here you go." And she handed off the check. "Just give it to Eridan and then you can leave."

"I could pay if you want." John asked, "You did help me clean my room."

Rose pulled out her wallet. "I'd rather just split the bill." A small smile crept on her face, "and to be honest, I think I've collected enough blackmail information just from helping cleaning up your room to make up for my lost time."

"Hey!"  
Rose laughed.

Later that evening, John and his Dad were packing up their small car, and Rose helped pack up the last item into the trunk. John's dad called from the front for John to get in the car.

John didn't want to leave; finally the thing he didn't want to think about was in upon him.

"Now or never" John thought.

"I'll make sure to text you over Pesterchum. Perhaps we could see each other on vacations?" Rose asked.

"Haha, yeah…" John laughed a bit sadly.

Rose sighed. "John, it's not like you'll never see anyone again. I have relatives in your area, and I visit often. You'll see me around for sure."

"I know… I'm just being weird" John put on a small smile. "Thanks Rose"

"No Problem."

And John head off, leaving his college, his crush, and school year behind.

Author's note -

I'm not as proud of this chapter… I just needed something to start John's summer off. Better chapters are to come!  
Also, Rose used to live near John, but moved. That's why they went to the same high school, and Rose's relatives live near him, and all that good stuff.

I do take criticism! If I mess up anyone's character, or something is confusing, feel free to tell me. I'll clear it up!

_(I also apologize for typos or cut off sentences.)_


	3. Chapter 3

John sat on his bed, looking around at his room he hadn't seen in a good 9 months, everything seemed a bit strange. Not messy like his dorm, no crappy swords littering the walls or apple juice straws lazily set beside the trashcan instead of inside. While it was great and all, it made him rather…homesick? Schoolsick? What could he call it? He was too busy thinking about all this when his laptop suddenly pinged, showing the purple text he had been waiting for.

"I assume you made it home safe?" Rose sent.

"yeah!" typed John, his bright blue text popping up moments after.

"Good to hear, anything new?"

"if my it counts, my dad somehow made a cake that looks like a pie? man, imagine throwing that in someone's face!"

"So instead of getting a face full of whipped cream and pie filling, they get icing and soft cake dough?"  
"yeah!"

"Sounds amusing, who will be your first victim?"

"dave, maybe. or karkat!" Karkat was a friend at college. Angry, messy brown hair, room-mate was some sort of stoner, or seemed like it. He was the dorm-leader for John's hallway, meaning he was the one who had to make sure people were in line.

"I know I am visiting my mother this weekend" John suddenly remembered Rose shared a apartment with Kanaya. Wasn't Kanaya her girlfriend? John never asked, but he had always assumed so. Dave would mention it sometimes. "Perhaps I could arrange Dave to come down with me?"

"that would be great rose! man, me and you could be a prank team!"

"Perhaps we could"

And that's where John stopped typing, since he didn't know how to continue. Rose was one of his best friends, what would it be like if he wasn't friends with her? Things certainly wouldn't be the same but…he couldn't help feeling that it be a pretty boring life. Rose was snarky, funny, pretty, and crafty.

John sighed. Ugh, he really was crushing over Rose. Seriously, it could have been anyone. Anyone! Instead it had to be a close friend. Smooth John, smooth.

"woo! how cool would that be! no one would see us coming!"

"I'm sorry John, but I have to leave to deal with some urgent matters. I'll message you when I'm done." 

Urgent matters? It didn't prick at John's mind too much but a part of him still wondered. What could be so urgent?

_Authors Note:-  
I am so sorry for making you guys wait.  
I was on a cruise and unfortunately, wifi cost a lot of money. Not only that that but I have limited CP access at the moment and I have a hard time getting things written._

_Well, I hope you like this chapter. Or at least liked it better than the last one. _


	4. Chapter 4

John sat at Rose's Mom's house, sitting as Mom Lalonde tried to make conversation, obviously a bit tipsy. John was used to it, and was rather good at responding politely. John sometimes enjoyed talking to Rose's mom, after all, she told the funniest stories about Rose.

"Ah yes, this is when Rosey decided to knit the cat a sweater. I still have it ya know." Mom Lalonde said, her speech understandable but a bit slurred. She was busy paging through a book of pictures of Rose and her younger, baby days, and her cats. "I make sure every cat in this house gets to wear it at least once."

John laughed. "I've never seen Rose without that headband. Its sorta funny to see her without it!"

"Ah yeah...She had always wore them when goin' out in public. She has like, a bazillion-gazillion up in her room" She sighed. "Almost all of them black. You'd be surprised how many shades of black there are! I know once I bough-" She stopped dead when they both heard a car pull in.

"Rose!" They both said, running out to go see her. Wow it had only been a week calm down guys!

When Rose stepped out of the car, she was swamped by her mom in questions, comments, and concern. John stood by, laughing to himself very quietly.

"My Rosey! How are you? Are you alright? Did you manage to get all your stuff from-" The blonde was cut short by Rose's voice.

"Yes Mom, I'm fine. Me and Dave managed to get all of my stuff." She said, her voice casual. John began to wonder…why would she need her stuff? His eyes drifted over to the car she arrived in and noticed her bags in the back, along with furniture and other objects. John wasn't dumb, but he couldn't seem to piece why Rose practically took her house with her…then it hit him. Rose had moved out. Maybe that was the urgent matter? He doubted it, she would of simply told him she was moving out then. Why was he so curious anyway?

"Yo" grunted a voice, a male figure covered by a suitcase he was carrying. "I hate to ruin your private session of 20 questions, but my arms are gonna break pretty soon if someone doesn't help."

"Pfftt, man are you that weak?" John teased, taking the bag from him. "By the way, there are wheels and handles on this suitcase."

Dave huffed, "I was aware, Jonathan. Just like the sky is blue and you're a dweeb." He said, flicking John's forehead.

"Ow!" John Winced. "Not cool."

Dave only laughed as he started hauling more things out of the car. There wasn't much, and when Rose stopped talking with her mom long enough to help, they had Rose's stuff in the house in no time flat. Soon enough, The 4 of them were in the Lalonde's living room, dining on small pastries and such, talking about summer plans.

"So Rose" John asked curiously. "How long are you going to be staying? A new public pool opened up around here, and if you stay long enough we could probably go swimming!" Asking how long she was going to stay was just John's way of asking "So are you moving in?".

Rose shrugged. "It depends. Probably just for the summer." She replied, looking away.

John grew even more curious on what was up when Mom Lalonde put a hand on Rose's shoulder. Did someone die? Was Rose grieving? It was probably very obvious that he was curiously confused, so Dave whispered to him the details.

"So, uh, you probably haven't been filled in, but Kan broke up with Rose last day of school." He whispered. John blinked, about to respond until Rose's eyes fell upon the boys.

"That's why Kanaya went home early. We had a break up." She said, casual. It sorta scared John on how calm she was being.

"Oh…Sorry to hear about that Rose..." John said awkwardly. He didn't know how to react to the news. He felt like he should be celebrating, because his crush was single, but part of him just felt sad for Rose. Relationships were just so complicated and he didn't like the whole trouble it could bring him into, this also added to the fact he didn't crush on many people. He was fine with being eternally single and best bros with everyone else.

Rose sighed, a bit tired of everyone fussing. "It's alright."

"Hey!" Mom Lalonde said, breaking everyone's focus on Rose's lovelife and bringing it to her. "Why don't we take a shopping break, huh?" She asked, "It'll be fun, you guys! Even for the fellas" She laughed, nudging Dave and John.

"Sounds great," Rose said, grateful. "John, we can stop by your house to pick up wallet if you want."

"Actually, I have it on me." John lifted up a leather wallet, dyed navy blue with yellow stitching. "we can just go"

"Alright! Everyone in the car!" Mom Lalonde cheered.

"I'll drive" Dave smirked. "Lets not blow all our money on traffic tickets."

And so they went off…leaving the house keys inside next to the tray of pastries.

**Authors Note: **

**Now we're getting somewhere. **

**I know I'm a cheesy writer, just shhhhhhhhhh. **

_{If you have questions or __**friendly**__ criticis, please feel free to message me! }_


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